Cubs-Phillies: Round 2 - Good game, but Cubs
still lose

post from Baseball In-Depth on 21 July 2009 11:46:00 PM. © Baseball In-Depth

The losing pitcher in this 13 inning game was Jeff Samardzija, the former star wide receiver from Notre Dame. He pitched well last year (26 games, 2.28 ERA), but tonight was not his night, giving up a walk-off 3 run homer to Jayson Werth in the 13th.

It's the Phillies first 10 game winning streak since 1991 and they can do no wrong right now. They got 3 perfect innings (3 IN, 0 hits, 0 BB, 5 SO) from Chan Ho Park (!). Yes, he kind of re-invented himself as a decent reliever last year with the Dodgers, but he had struggled this year. If they can get quality work out of Chan Ho Park, then they are really rolling.
As for the Cubs, they still aren't hitting. They hit the Nationals pretty hard, but that doesn't really count. Getting rid of Mark DeRosa and adding Milton Bradley was obviously a bad decision, at least in hindsight. Alfonso Soriano has become Rob Deer this season (Soriano 2009 - .243, 16 HR, 38 RBI, 88 SO, 7 SB) (Rob Deer 1992 - .247, 32 HR, 64 RBI, 131 SO, 4 SB). Ok, he's scored 53 runs, but that's still still only 44th in the league. He has hit pretty well the last few weeks, so maybe that's a start.
They are really counting on Aramis Ramirez, who has been back from injury after missing a few months. If he's healthy, he'll hit. He has always put up good numbers, but it is unclear whether he could bring the rest of the lineup along with him if he does heat up. They have a talented lineup, but they haven't put it together yet this year. Luckily for them, the NL is weak this year beyond the Dodgers and Phillies, so they have a chance.

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Astros offense explodes, the bullpen implodes,
but Wandy still gets the W - Cards 6 Astros 11

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 21 July 2009 11:46:00 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Sa-sa-sa-sa-saaaaa-see-ya

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We could almost just go ahead and gloss over the first six innings of this game because it wasn't until the seventh that this one got...interesting is about the mildest way to put it. Wandy didn't have his best stuff in the first few innings, but he dialed it in to cruise through 7IP and even contributed offensively in what would be an explosive bottom of the seventh.

Let's break it down:

Wandy Rodriguez's line: 7IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 5K, 0BB with 6GB and 10FB on 104 pitches (71 strikes).
Hunter Pence started the Astros off with a 2-run HR in the second, to give the Astros a lead they would never relinquish (try as Chad Paronto might, though).
Miguel Tejada was 2/5 on two singles and a sac fly.
Chris Coste did an admirable job standing in for Lance Berkman with an RBI double in the fourth and played solid defense.
Carlos Lee hit a 316 foot grand slam to ice—or what seemed like icing at the time—the Cardinals after TLR ordered an IBB of Miguel Tejada. Way to make'em pay big guy.
Geoff Blum had an amazing snare to rob LaRue a double in the top of the seventh and hit a homerun in the bottom of the frame before Carlos Lee could even finish his curtain call.

Chad Paronto entered the 8th in what looked like a ball game that was over, but oh it wasn't. Oh was it not:

Brendan Ryan doubled a ball that caromed off the Crawford Boxes and made Carlos Lee look a little silly in the field.
Skip Schumaker walked and then a passed ball advanced Ryan to third.
Nick Stavinoha hit a sac fly to score Ryan.
In stepped Pujols which was nerve racking, but a 1B to left limited the damage to runners at first and second.
Ryan Ludwick clocked a HR.
Mark DeRosa tattooed his second HR of the night into our bullpen off Wesley Wright.
Thankfully the Cardinals bullpen hasn't heard of momentum and Miguel Tejada's sac fly was able to take the proverbial wind out of the Cardinals proverbial sails. I was kind of hoping that TLR would sucker punch Dennys Reyes when he pulled him.

The good news in all of that is that it really had no real impact on our odds of winning the game. Going into the 8th the Astros had a 99.9% chance of winning, and the low point after DeRosa bomb was 97.6%. See for yourself:

290721118_cardinals_astros_135102303_lbig_medium

via www.fangraphs.com

With the Cubs extra inning loss to the Phillies and the Astros series clinching victory (how's that for the keynote address I was looking for?) here's how the NL Central shakes out:

NL Central Standings

W L PCT GB STRK St. Louis5145.5310Lost 2Houston4846.5102Won 2Milwaukee4846.5102Won 1Chicago4745.5102Lost 2Cincinnati4448.4785Lost 1Pittsburgh4152.4408.5Lost 1

(updated 7.21.2009 at 10:42 PM CDT)

With Roy on the mound tomorrow against Carpenter, the great match-up will have a lot riding on it (we could be one game out!!!!).

Cardinals vs Astros coverage ; Viva El Birdos

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2009/7/21/957365/astros-offense-explodes-the

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Astros offense explodes, the bullpen implodes,
but Wandy still gets the W: Cards 6 Astros 11

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 21 July 2009 11:46:00 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Sa-sa-sa-sa-saaaaa-see-ya

Browse more photos »

Let's break it down:

Wandy Rodriguez's line: 7IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 5K, 0BB with 6GB and 10FB on 104 pitches (71 strikes).
Hunter Pence started the Astros off with a 2-run HR in the second to give the Astros a lead they would never relinquish (try as Chad Paronto might, though).
Miguel Tejada was 2/5 with 3 RBIs on two singles and a sac fly.
Chris Coste did an admirable job standing in for Lance Berkman with an RBI double in the fourth and played solid defense.
Carlos Lee hit a 316 foot grand slam to ice—or what seemed like icing at the time—the Cardinals after TLR ordered an IBB of Miguel Tejada. Way to make'em pay big guy.
Geoff Blum had an amazing snare to rob Jason LaRue of a double in the top of the seventh and hit a homerun in the bottom of the frame before Carlos Lee could even finish his curtain call.

Chad Paronto entered the 8th in what looked like a ball game that was over, but oh it wasn't. Oh was it not:

Brendan Ryan doubled a ball that caromed off the Crawford Boxes and made Carlos Lee look a little silly in the field.
Skip Schumaker walked and then a passed ball advanced Ryan to third.
Nick Stavinoha hit a sac fly to score Ryan.
In stepped Albert Pujols which was nerve racking, but a 1B to left limited the damage to runners at first and second.
Ryan Ludwick clocked a HR.
Mark DeRosa tattooed his second HR of the night into our bullpen off Wesley Wright.
Thankfully the Cardinals bullpen hasn't heard of momentum and Miguel Tejada's sac fly was able to take the proverbial wind out of the Cardinals proverbial sails. I was kind of hoping that TLR would sucker punch Dennys Reyes when he pulled him.

via www.fangraphs.com

With the Cubs extra inning loss to the Phillies and the Astros series clinching victory (how's that for the keynote address I was looking for?) here's how the NL Central shakes out:

NL Central Standings

W L PCT GB STRK St. Louis5145.5310Lost 2Houston4846.5102Won 2Milwaukee4846.5102Won 1Chicago4745.5102Lost 2Cincinnati4448.4785Lost 1Pittsburgh4152.4408.5Lost 1

(updated 7.21.2009 at 10:42 PM CDT)

With Roy on the mound tomorrow against Carpenter, the great match-up will have a lot riding on it (we could be one game out!!!!).

Cardinals vs Astros boxscore ; Cardinals vs Astros recap ; Cardinals vs Astros coverage ; Viva El Birdos

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2009/7/21/957365/astros-offense-explodes-the

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"Anatomy of a Franchise" New York Mets: Part V -
Grants Tomb"

post from Dom D's Mets Fan Blog on 21 July 2009 11:44:59 PM. © Dom D's Mets Fan Blog

Anatomy of a Franchise New York Mets: Part V ? ?Grant?s Tomb?

1974 was a big transition year for me. For the first time in my 29 years I was venturing out of the safety net of the New York City, Connecticut, and New York State area and venturing into new uncharted Philadelphia Phillies territory down the New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 4 better known to most as Cherry Hill.

We actually didn?t live there but close enough so that when people asked me where I lived that was the most recognizable. Later, after just a few months there, it became simply known as South Jersey which in reality is a state all of its own.

Unlike North Jersey that has a healthy selection of New York Mets fans, in 1974 there was only one New York Met fan in South Jersey. Me, and here I was starting a new job, in a new area still only 90 miles away that seemed like another continent.

South Jersey starts just below Trenton, goes east to the Jersey Shore to Seaside Heights, and south to Cape May. It is completely 100% Philadelphia fans in every sport out there and maybe some time somewhere in the future during football season I will tell a similar story about the Eagles, but for this series the Phillies ultimately play a pivotal role in my life.

The Mets were coming off a pretty surprising season ending to 1973. The won the National league Pennant beating the Big Red Machine and went to game seven of the World Series before losing out to the Oakland Athletics.

Hopes and aspirations were high for the Mets and I was as excited as the rest. In those days being a fan was just that. I believed everything I read and I saw nothing but positives in the world around me. Are you listening both Nick?s and Mike Kent? The Mets were good the year before so why think they would be anything less.

Here?s their 1974 opening day line up.

1. Wayne Garrett 3B
2. Felix Millan 2B
3. Rusty Staub RF
4. Cleon Jones LF
5. John Milner 1B
6. Jerry Grote C
7. Don Hahn CF
8 Bud Harrelson SS
9. Tom Seaver P

Not a bad lineup. Nothing scary like a Big Red Machine but pretty solid offensively and a sound defense and the pitching staff of Seaver, Koosman and Matlock that wasn?t too shabby. Should have made a pretty decent year, yes? NO! The Mets finished with a 71-91 record and a 5th place finish.

The ?Big Three? were terrible. Seaver went 11-11. Koosman went 15-11 and Matlack was 13-15. Tug McGraw went 6-11 in relief with 3 saves. Cleon Jones had the highest batting average for the starters at .282 and John Milner lead the team with 20 home runs and 70 runs scored. Rusty led the team with 78 RBI?s. The team just plain stunk.

I had the mis-fortune not to travel back to the NYC and see Met home games at Shea and that begin a twenty year period where I only made 5 trips to see the Mets at Shea Stadium but had the opportunity to go to over 100 games against the Phillies and others at Veterans Stadium which I?ll say at this point in time was one of, if not, the worst baseball park to watch a game in that I have ever attended.

As bad as it was, it was still a chance to watch my team for better and mostly worse at this time as a visitor in a foreign land.

The Mets got off to a terrible start that year and never recovered. By June 1st they were 8 games below .500 and by the All Star Break they were 13 games below and done for the year. I went to 2 games that year with Ellen and I wondered if her streak would now continue on the road as well.

The first game was on June 22nd and even then some faithful Met fans would travel down from the city but nothing like it would be in the mid 80?s when the Mets got back on top. The Phillies took a 5-0 lead into the fifth inning and the game was over. Mike Schmidt had a hit, Larry Bowa had 3 and Dave Cash had 2. I could tell then that they had the makings of a special team but that would come really into play during the next 5 years. The final Score was 5-2. We didn?t talk on the way home.

The second game we went to that year was in September, the first of a three game series. There was virtually no one there since the Phillies would end the season going 80-82 and when the Phillies didn?t win they hardly drew big crowds. So we sat right over the Mets dugout about 4 rows up and the Phillie Phanatic, who was just getting hit feet wet then, was the most entertaining part of the festivities.

Once again this time by the 4th inning the Mets were down 4-0 but they scored two runs in the fourth. It wasn?t enough as Steve Carlton won his then 16th game of the year and once again Larry Bowa had three more hits and I was beginning to wish that my team could have the likes of a Larry Bowa, Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.

Little did I know or recognize at the time that the Phillies were coming into their own and I was intrigued by their play and the personalities on their team.

So now Ellen?s losing streak had increased to 11 straight Mets losses and I was having more misgivings about having such a bad luck charm waking up with me everyday. So, was the die cast? Not quite, that wouldn?t happen until we hit 20 but that?s just getting a little ahead of myself.

The Mets made some changes in 1975. Joan Payson the Principal owner passed away and since no one in the family had any interest in the team or baseball itself, they gave control of the franchise to one M. Donald.Grant. Grant had actually been with the Mets since its second year in existence until 1978.

Grant was far from a baseball man. Whitey Herzog who actually was the Director of Player Development when the Mets won the World Series in 1969 told Grant to his face that he didn?t know ?beans about baseball?. In later years, like when I first thought of writing this article and I stumbled on this fact, I often wonder what could have happened back when Gil Hodges died if Whitey Herzog could have stepped in and managed this team. But Grant and the whole Mets organization were still so enthralled with the Dodgers, Giants and Yankee connections, (sound familiar today?) that Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Frazier, and Joe Torre were the next Met Managers that followed Gil, while Whitey was leading the St. Louis Cardinals to championships in the 80?s.

Grant?s most famous move was the ultimate Met blunder trading ?The Franchise? Tom Seaver along with slugger Dave Kingman on the now famous ?The Midnight Massacre? on June 15th 1977. Met fans will never forgive Grant and this move set the franchise back many years. Shea Stadium attendance was so drastically reduced that it was common for the beat writers to refer to Shea Stadium as ?Grant?s Tomb.?

The trading of Tom Seaver was like a dagger in my heart. The Phillies had already reached the playoffs in 76 and would do it again in 77. I rooted for the Mets but it was no secret that I also liked the Phillies and knowing the Mets were going in the wrong direction, once I felt they were eliminated, I openly rooted for the Phil?s.

I took my son to his first Phillies game that year. It wasn?t against the Mets. That was my first and very costly mistake. All I remember is that the Phillies won and this team in red had new young fan. What a blunder on my part that I regret to this day, but you?ll see in part VI just how much worse that situation became when I lost my son?s fan hood forever and ever.

In 1975 the Mets finished 3rd with an 82-80 record and in 1976 they improved to 86-76. Ellen and I went to 3 games in 75 against the Phil?s. They lost all three. I went to 2 other Phillies Mets games with my son who was 5 and my daughter who was three. We went 2-0. Her streak now stood at 14 and she decided that maybe she was bad luck. DUH. 0-14 and she just started to put the pieces together? OYE.

In 1976, the Phillies won the National League East and with Dick Allen, Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Bob Boone, Dave Cash, and Garry Maddox. They were a fun team to watch and heck during the season and the off season as well a week wouldn?t go by and you would run into one of them at the store, in a restaurant or in a movie. They all lived in South Jersey and this was the local team.

Ellen lost a pair of games that year moving her stellar record to 0- 16.

By 1978 Grant was gone, but he left with 2 more miserable seasons where the Mets went 64-98 in 1977 and 66-96 in 1978. I continued to go to most Phillies Mets games each year at the Vet but now mixed with Phillies - Dodger games and Phillies - Reds games.

1979 and 1980 produced two more 90+ loss seasons for the Mets and with the Phillies winning the World Series in 1980 it was no longer a secret that the Phillies were a more enjoyable team to watch and although I started each new season with high hopes and expectations for my Mets I had no trouble at all rooting for the Phillies.

I hate to say this but if this is a life story then things that happen need to be reported. By 1979 Ellen and I had gone to 23 Mets games and they lost all 23. Now this may sound silly to 99.9% of those people reading this but after 12 years of this streak plus other non-mentionables we split up. That?s life, it happens and although I have joked about the streak, any marriage breakup where there are small children involved can never have a happy ending.

I had soured on life. My marriage had failed my team stunk up the joint because there was no leadership or identity with the city I loved. By 1980 I knew that the only way the Mets were going to be a successful franchise was to totally move in a different direction and turn its back on its Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants past. They needed to establish their own identity like the New York Jets.

So what did they do? The Payson family sold the Mets to Nelson Doubleday for 21.1 million dollars. Doubleday became the Chairman of the Board and turned the team over to Brooklyn born and bred and lifetime Brooklyn Dodger fan, Fred Wilpon and named him the club President.

Now 28 years later we still have the New York (Brooklyn Dodger) Mets, and you wonder why I almost left the fold to what has now become our most feared rival since the Braves.

Stay tuned for Part VI, ?The Re-Birth Theirs and Mine?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.ddmetsfanblog.com/2009/07/anatomy-of-franchise-new-york-mets-part_21.h
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7-21-09 Minor League Report

post from LADodgerTalk.com - Get Your Daily Dodger Juice, Dodger News and Dodger Rumors on 21 July 2009 11:31:00 PM. © LADodgerTalk.com - Get Your Daily Dodger Juice, Dodger News and Dodger Rumors

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So what did we get from Mitre

post from The Voice of Yankees Universe on 21 July 2009 11:30:47 PM. © The Voice of Yankees Universe

If this team wants to keep Hughes and Aceves in the bullpen, they appear to have found their fifth starter.

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Game 93, Thread 2: The Reds Are Getting Their Ass
Run Over By Trolleys

post from Red Reporter on 21 July 2009 11:07:00 PM. © Red Reporter

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

A cleanup hitter with power who looks good in a sombrero? Sorry ladies, he's spoken for. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Browse more photos »

Homer's getting hit. That ain't good. The Reds aren't good, and they aren't good on the West Coast, the only good thing about LA is one PeteyHendrix.

Uh, go Reds.

Read The Full Article:
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Visual Proof of my lifelong of suffering (Camera
Day Content)

post from Royals Review on 21 July 2009 11:05:00 PM. © Royals Review

A month or so ago, the subject of Camera Day @ old Royals stadium came up in the UL Washington, greatest Royals thread, and I said that I'd try to find some old pictures of me, with legends of days past. Well, I had asked my parents to help in that endeavor some time ago, and I just got an email from my dad with the scans...

I think it would be a fun thread if anyone else has any photos of themselves, or their kids from Camera Day...

*1981*

I was born in December of '78, so I was just under 3 years old on Photo Day in 1981. On August 19, 1981 the Royals squared off against the Toronto Blue Jays. Dennis Leonard vs Juan Berenguer. The Royals entered the game a mere 14.5 games out of first, while the Jays were just 17.0 games back, so this game had major playoff implications! The Jays would ruin all hopes of the Royals making a comeback in that fateful 1981 season by pounding KC 9-4 in front of 28,174 Polaroid wielding fans on that fateful Wedensday afternoon.

via i94.photobucket.com

THat vacant look in my eyes tells you I knew I was being held by the wrong Brett brother! via i94.photobucket.com

Who knew that just 25 or so years later, that tarp would give Ken Harvey nightmares! via i94.photobucket.com

via i94.photobucket.com

Upon looking at this picture closely, I am left to ponder what Peyton Manning was doing dressed as a Nebraska fan! via i94.photobucket.com

And you thought Rance Mulliniks was a highlight! via i94.photobucket.com

Creepy via i94.photobucket.com

The player that brought up the discussion that led to this thread. May he live in infamy for that honor! via i94.photobucket.com

I'm not sure what that white powder is on the top of my hat... via i94.photobucket.com

via i94.photobucket.com

Probably my favorite of the bunch. When asked as a child between the ages of 2 & 5, it is reported

that when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I only responded, "I'm gonna be a hitter like Hal."

via i94.photobucket.com

The Pre-Outfield Experience. via i94.photobucket.com

*1982*

Nearing my 4th birthday, you can tell I was really hitting my stride as a future Royals fan in these epic shots. due to an unfortunate labeling error, it is impossible to tell exactly when in August of '82 these shots were acquired. No matter the date, the Royals were much more in the thick of the race this season. The entire month of August, the Royals were either in first, or within at least 2 games of first.

via i94.photobucket.com

This is one thing I do remember. Sheer dissapointment that George wasn't holding any kids, and had a crack security force consisting of Charlies Angels wannabees. via i94.photobucket.com

This was my parent attempt at tricking me into thinking I was "In the Photo with George" I'm sure. via i94.photobucket.com

I believe I have the look of terror on my face because there was a phone nearby...via i94.photobucket.com

I got my picture taken with a guy that walked on the Moon!!! Oh, wait...via i94.photobucket.com

I'm not sure what that white...Oh, I already used that line huh? via i94.photobucket.com

Willie was so fast, he actually took this picture himself. via i94.photobucket.com

*1983*

The 1983 Photo Day was earlier in the season than the past 2 excursions. The Royals hosted the hated White Sox on this fateful day in May, featuring a pitching matchup of Lamarr Hoyt & Larry Gura. Hoyt definitely got the better of this matchup, as the Sox won 11-3 behind HR's from Greg Luzinski & Harold Baines, and Hoyt threw a complete game. The Royals only managed 7 hits with noone collecting more than 1, and the immortal Pat Sheridan collecting 2 RBI. 31,210 saw the game at Royals Stadium, a crowd that can only hope to be acheived when a Free T-Shirt, or $1 Hot Dogs are there for the fans taking nowadays.

I must have been in a good mood this day. Some of the best facial expressions of any pics I EVER took as a child...

via i94.photobucket.com

This is the ONE picture that I specifically remember having taken of me. Dick Howser had a DEATH GRIP on me. It was like he was holding me out of a balcony in Europe! via i94.photobucket.com